A LEVY holiday has been announced for pig producers to help alleviate some of the financial pressures facing the sector amid the current challenges.

The decision was made by QMS and AHDB in response to the backlog of pigs on farm, falling prices and high production costs.

The levy holiday will take place during November 2021 across Scotland and England and will amount to just under £1 million of savings for the sector.

QMS chair, Kate Rowell, said it was important to support producers whilst they face exceptional difficulties: “After discussions between the QMS Board and AHDB the decision was made to introduce a levy holiday in November for pig producers.

“The pig sector plays an important role in Scotland’s agricultural industry and this relief will help support producers as they work tirelessly to look after the animals in their care.”

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon added: “As they move into one of their busiest months of the year, the levy holiday in Scotland and England provided by QMS and AHDB will be a welcome measure to those in the pig sector, especially in light of the issues they have been facing over the past month. This helpful move will not solve any of the issues but will be of some assistance to the sector.”

Chairman of the AHDB Pork Board, Mike Sheldon, said: “These challenges, in particular a shortage of skilled workers, come on top of pressure on margins largely due to rising feed costs. These issues are extremely concerning and therefore require industry-wide action to prevent the situation deteriorating into an animal welfare issue.

“AHDB is already undertaking work to help the sector, including providing independent evidence to Government setting out the seriousness of the situation, and looking at how together we can support meat processors to ease the supply of labour,” he concluded.